| |
| Good morning. It’s Friday, Feb. 27, and if you spot a man in a chic suit and a backwards baseball hat riding a bike today, he’s probably been watching this show. Now let’s get to the news. | |
 |  | President Donald Trump is being urged to take executive control of elections. | - Behind the scenes: Activists are circulating a draft executive order that would unlock extraordinary presidential power over voting — like banning mail ballots and voting machines.
- Will it happen? Trump is already pushing for legislation to require proof of citizenship and ID to vote. If it fails, he has said he will act unilaterally before the midterms this year.
- Looking further ahead: We ranked the 2028 Republican presidential contenders here.
| |
 | A partially blind refugee left in a parking lot by Border Patrol was found dead. | | | Video shows a man near a Buffalo coffee shop. Nurul Amin Shah Alam’s family says Border Patrol left the refugee there five days before he was found dead. (Video: Obtained by The Washington Post) | - Last week: Nurul Amin Shah Alam, 56, went missing for days after being released in Buffalo by immigration agents, who found he was not deportable. His death has sparked outrage.
- In a separate case: ICE released a detained Columbia student after New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani asked Trump for help. The university alleges agents hid their identities.
- Meanwhile: The IRS broke the law “approximately 42,695 times” in giving DHS data, a judge said.
| |
| |  | Vice President JD Vance said there is “no chance” of a drawn-out war with Iran. | - Yesterday: Vance told The Post the U.S. would not get involved in a years-long war, even as Trump weighs the possibility of strikes. Nuclear negotiations with Iran continue next week.
- In other news from the region: Pakistan said it was in “open war” with Afghanistan as the neighbors trade strikes. Relations between the countries have been worsening for months.
| |
 | Hillary Clinton derided her Epstein deposition as “political theater.” | - Yesterday: Clinton told a Republican-led panel she didn’t know sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and questioned why she was deposed in its investigation. Today, Bill Clinton will testify.
- More on Epstein: The DOJ will review whether it wrongly withheld Epstein files containing allegations against Trump. It has been reported that certain documents are missing.
| |
| |  | The Pentagon’s showdown with AI firm Anthropic has escalated. | - Why? Sources told The Post tensions rose after a discussion about a hypothetical nuclear attack. The Pentagon wanted to know if it could use Anthropic’s technology to shoot down a missile.
- Zooming out: The Pentagon wants Anthropic to allow the use of its tech to spy on or kill humans. The company rejected that demand ahead of a deadline today.
| |
 | See the places that have gotten the most (and least) snow this winter. | | | Total snowfall so far this winter, from. Sept. 30, 2025, to Feb. 26, 2026. (The Washington Post, Source: NOAA/NOHRSC) | - Record winter weather: About 123 million people have experienced above-average snowfall across the U.S. during this winter season. That’s the highest number in five years.
- Use our search tool: Check here to see how snowfall in your city stacks up against the average. Vermont had the highest average snowfall of any state, with 89 inches.
| |
 | Neanderthal males and human females had babies together, DNA reveals. | | | Skulls are displayed as part of the Neanderthal exhibition at the Musee de l'Homme in Paris. (Stephane De Sakutin/AFP/Getty Images) | - Meet the ancient hominin parents: Cross-species prehistoric pairings tended to follow a distinct pattern with Neanderthal dads and Homo sapiens mothers, a study found.
- The evidence: The lack of Neanderthal DNA on the X chromosomes of modern humans implies a strong sex bias in mating — offering clues about the social dynamics of our ancestors.
Before you go … considering a gut microbiome test? Read this first. Plus: New dietary guidelines promise science over bias —
| |
Hannah Jewell and 
